04-09-2007
Blowfly Wines
Gareth Tricky (from Blowfly Label Wines) and Ken Borchardt (from Red Earth Label Wines) not only spoke about their shared passion - wine-making - but also brough along samples for tasting. Their presentation included the following:
- Gareth & Ken both have boutique wineries and produce their wines without the use of chemicals to enhance the growth, colour, taste, or longevity.
- Gareth is very passionate about the wines he produces with Ken's help. They produce limited quantities of very good wine.
- Ken's vineyard at Dubbo is totally computerised, from the amount of moisture at the roots of the vines, to the controlled temperature in the storage areas. Every setting can be varied at the touch of a button.
- Blowfly was born at South Burloo - a hilltop estate outside of Coonabarabran - which overlooks the volcanic remnants of The Warrumbungle Mountains. The property takes its name from the Aboriginal word "burloo" which means "place of many flies".
- The vineyard was established in 1998 and employs an advanced non-mechanical and highly intensive (fanatical in some cases) approach to vineyard practices which includes harvesting all grapes by hand, at night, to enable the production of very unique and complex wines.
- Ken & Christine established the Red Earth vineyard on 8.4 hectares of land south of Dubbo in October 2000.
- The location was selected for a number of reasons: the clean environment, the hot dry air, the northerly aspect of the property, a gentle slope for good drainage, soil type ideal for grape growing, and being within the Western Plains tourist circuit.
- Only fruit from Red Earth Estate goes into the wine sold under The Red Earth Label.
- Now in its 6th year, the winery is crushing approximately 110 tonnes of grapes and producing wine on a contract basis with 9 other vineyards in the region.
- Although the winery is capable of producing up to 250 tonnes of fruit in a vintage, the decision has been taken to keep production small and to maintain a hands-on approach, concentrating on quality not quantity.
- Both wineries have experienced drought over the past few years. In spite of this, though, they both have produced exceptional quality wines.
Last changed: 03:20:40 04-10-2008